DRIVERS faced traffic chaos this morning as one of the south's busiest roads was shut following an accident which left one person dead.

The motorcyclist was killed following the crash on the M3, involving up to eight cars, shortly after 1am.

A second person was taken to hospital to be treated for shock while several others were treated at the scene.

Debris from the collision was left strewn across both carriageways of the motorway but police managed to clear the northbound lanes and reopen it shortly after 6am today.

However the southbound lanes between junction 11 at Winchester and Junction 12 at Eastleigh remained closed this morning. They were not expected to be reopened until much later today after police
investigators have examined the road for clues as to how the fatality happened.

The details of exactly where the crash happened or which way the motorcyclist had been travelling were this morning still unclear.

Police were this morning warning drivers to avoid the motorway altogether and follow diversions that they said would also have lengthy tailbacks.

One the motorway this morning traffic was ground to a halt and left backed up for several miles as drivers made their way to work unaware of what had happened.

Vehicles were being diverted off the road towards Otterbourne or Morestead but the neighbouring village of Twyford also had road closures and drivers were being asked to avoid the area.

Insp Roger Price, from Hampshire police, warned that there would be "severe traffic disruption" and urged drivers to steer clear.